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Letters to the Editor

Where’s the help for Gaza?

To the editor: The people of Gaza know about consequences. They know what constant bombing by their Israeli jailers has done to the quality of their lives, and to their very existence. A mother recently brought her child into a Gaza hospital hoping to get some food but found none. Her 1-year-old weighs 6-and-a-half pounds. The U.S. could stop and reverse this horror, but instead it supports the genocide. Meanwhile, here at home, a landmark law was passed that will enrich the already rich and deny medical care to the least of our brothers and sisters. On the one hand, the genocide ...

A tribute to ‘Slugs’ Smarrella

To the editor: The recent passing of Joseph Smarrella is a great loss to the people he served as treasurer of United Steelworkers Local 1190 in the tri-cities of Steubenville, Weirton and Pittsburgh. He was known as “Slugs” to the community of Steelworkers where he worked for 40 years. What people might not have known was that he was a regional coordinator of a national, nonpartisan coalition of unions in 30 states. The coalition represented unions that fabricated products made from the steel mills in the Tri-State Area. The coalition included defense and aerospace workers, ...

Parkview wall: Five years later

To the editor: Once upon a time (1981) a man desired to build his dream home in Wintersville at the intersection of Fernwood and Parkview. Alas, it was not a suitable lot on which to build. The man received permission from a government official to construct a lot. The man constructed two walls made of railroad ties — one wall very close to Parkview and the other wall intersecting the first wall. This was then filled in and a home was constructed on that “lot.” The home was eventually sold to the present owner. As years went by, the walls started to buckle. Large metal pipes ...

Changing view of immigrants

To the editor: As President Donald Trump continues his all-out assault against immigrants, particularly those who have entered our great country from our southern border, by securing $170 billion for the mass deportation of migrants, as a result of the passing of what he, illogically, deems to be his Big, Beautiful Bill, which will include the hiring of 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as well as 8,000 additional Border Patrol agents, in order to resolve what has been described as our nation’s border crisis. As a result of the dramatic funding increase for ICE, ...

The plot thins

To the editor: I love good old-fashioned murder mystery. In a good police procedural, the detective always gets the killer in the end, but real life isn’t so tidy. There isn’t always a smoking gun. Sometimes, all you’ve got is a stack of circumstantial evidence — and that’s often enough. Maybe there’s no footage of the killer pulling the trigger, but the suspect — trying to be clever — releases a video proving he wasn’t near the body at the time of death. Then we learn the video was tampered with, and there’s a missing chunk of metadata. Remember: One missing ...

Remembering a true public servant

To the editor: On July 13, Eastern Ohio lost a dedicated public servant, a champion for working families and a deeply beloved member of our community—Jack Cera. Cera was more than a former state representative — he was the very definition of a citizen leader. Born and raised in Bellaire, a proud graduate of Bellaire High School and Brown University, Jack never lost sight of where he came from. Whether in Columbus or in his native Belmont County, he carried with him the values that define this region: Hard work, honesty and a deep sense of duty to others. Throughout his ...